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Turning the clocks back an hour each fall can feel like a gift: an extra hour of sleep. But the trade-off is less daylight in the evening, and the annual switch continues to earn mixed reviews. The same is true in spring, when we lose an hour as daylight saving time begins.

But this twice-a-year reset isn't so easy for our internal clocks—also known as our circadian rhythms. In fact, desynchronization of our body clocks has been linked to increased risks of depression, obesity, heart attack, cancer and even car accidents.

In 1997, my laboratory discovered the CLOCK gene—the first circadian gene in mammals. My colleagues and I determined that mutated CLOCK genes can cause delays in circadian functions, which in turn lead to dysfunctions in metabolic, behavioral and cognitive abilities.

Every cell in our bodies keeps track of the time, and changes in daily patterns can trigger stress in our brains and cause sleep deprivation, disorientation and memory loss. These changes can also lead to difficulties with learning, social interactions and overall cognitive function.

In 2016, in collaboration with Dr. Masashi Yanagisawa's laboratory, we used an unbiased mutagenesis and screening method to discover the first genes in mice that regulate sleep. We uncovered two genes in mice that control how much rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep are needed. A healthy sleep pattern should include long stretches of non-REM sleep, when the brain is not actively dreaming and processing memories.

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